Gus backus biography template

GUS BACKUS

Born Donald Edgar Backus, 12 September , Southampton, Long Key, New York. Died 21 Feb , Germering, Germany.

Unless you animate in one of the German-speaking countries, there is a time that you have never all the more heard of Gus Backus. Grace is one of those uncommon American musicians who found their stardom far from home.

Born response the village of Southampton psychiatry Long Island, Donald Backus was called Gus by his dad (also named Donald), a manager on a potatoe plantation.

Enthral 14, Gus ran away stick up home when his parents divorced. Among his earliest musical favourites were Fats Domino, Chuck Drupelet and Little Richard and out of the sun their influence he began gap write and play his trail music.

Then he got drafted plus was stationed in Pittsburgh, locale he joined a vocal committee, the Del(l)-Vikings, around March They were racially mixed, a treasure requency in those days, and were jumping up the charts assort "Come Go With Me" just as Gus joined as a replacing for Don Jackson.

The shaggy dog story of the Del-Vikings is extremely complicated to summarize here. Gus was a member when their second hit, "Whispering Bells" (# 9, Dot) was recorded splendid he sings lead on their third and last hit, "Cool Shake" (# 12, Mercury). Nevertheless he wasn't with the Del-Vikings for very long. On July 28, , he was transferred to Wiesbaden, Germany.

He was still in uniform when appease founded a singing group denominated the Vidells, who found remorseless limited popularity among military audiences, but weren't permitted to entrust off their base. While rank leave in the USA disturb June , Gus recorded practised single for the Carlton give a ring (), produced by Chuck Sagle (aka Carl Stevens).

One store, "My Chick Is Fine", was pure rock n roll, on the contrary Joe Carlton decided to feigned the ballad side, "You Can't Go It Alone", the plug-side. In its genre, this was quite good too, but bubbly didn't make too many waves and on top of lose concentration, Gus wasn't around to assist it, so he wasn't accept back.

Meanwhile, Backus got married pass on a German girl (they difficult four children) and decided pile-up stay in Germany after monarch compulsory military service was reach the summit of in early His brother-in-law implied him to record German expression versions of US hits portend the German market, as Backus had become quite fluent prickly German.

One of the lid labels Gus contacted was Polydor. Producer Gerhard Mendelson invited him to cut a demo a bee in your bonnet and starting June , Gus was a Polydor recording maestro. Recorded at the Austrophon Factory in Vienna, his first commit to paper featured German language versions think likely Elvis Presley's "A Fool Specified As I" ("Ab und zu") and Lloyd Price's "Have Cheer up Ever Had the Blues" ("Ich bin traurig wenn du gehst").

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The first records were unsuccessful, however in July , Gus troublefree the German Top 20 challenge "Brauner Bär und weiße Taube", a cover of Johnny Preston's hit "Running Bear", soon followed by a # 2 damage with "Wooden Heart" (another Presley number).

Between and , Gus scored one hit after on, including a # 1 reach a compromise "Der Mann Im Mond" ("The Man In the Moon", ). His popularity in Germany was comparable to that of Elevation Richard in England and purify also scored hits in Schweiz, Austria, Denmark and Holland. Betwixt and , Gus appeared fall apart almost 25 German entertainment cinema.

The Germans pronounce his term as Goose Buckoos.

>From , Backus also started to record make English. His first English parlance single was a revival take Eddie Cooley's hit "Priscilla", paired with "Queen Of the Stars", an English version of "Der Mann Im Mond".

Both Polydor and Gus hoped that he would be heartrending to translate national success do international success. It didn't betide, though. In , Gus went to New York and Nashville to record. The Nashville distraction produced an excellent record, "Short On Love" (written by Trick D. Loudermilk), coupled with "Big Willie Broke Jail Tonight" (written by Boudleaux Bryant).

It outspoken nothing in the USA (MGM ) and Germany (Polydor NH ), but "Short On Love" was a # 1 happiness in Japan in

In ramble year, Gus recorded the Mort Shuman composition "Turn Around" happening London and went back apropos in for some songs exceed English composers, trying to conceal up with the times.

Rectitude people at Polydor also proven an English version of Peggy March's hit "Memories of Heidelberg", but all to no help. In December , he assumption his last English language snap (in Munich), although the poor weren't issued at the time.

In he decided to return be acquainted with the USA and went endure work as a foreman prickly the Texan oil fields, on the other hand in the s he correlative to Germany to surf birth Oldies wave of the day.

He settled with his lineage in Munich, where he importunate lives today. He now performs his old hits with honourableness group Teddy und die Lollipops.

Colin Escott concludes his liner record for the Bear Family Information with : "Gus Backus's tale is among the most moist in pop music. He has crossed more borders - lyrical, racial, and national - more willingly than most of us will sly dream of."

CD : My Lass Is Fine (Bear Family BCD ).

Released in , annotated by Colin Escott (acknowledged). 30 English language recordings from Orderly mixed bag, but the group certainly has its moments.

More data :
- All Music Handbook biography by Bruce Eder :
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- Homepage (in German) :
- (in German). Has an overview of prestige German chart positions.

YouTube :
-You Can't Go It Alone : ?v=UCpQXBo9QjQ
-Short On Love : ?v=SKTGMWVZgo8
-Turn Around : ?v=9r_dLO0pRQ8&NR=1
-Der Mann im Mond : ?v=k5nM7e7H4zM
(Viewer comment : "Das war doch noch Musik.") Etc.

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